NC House candidate accused of DWI

Philipps

By The Times-News

Published: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 08:39 AM.

N.C. House of Representatives candidate Patty Philipps was charged during the weekend with driving while impaired.

Arrest records say Philipps, also a member of Mebane’s City Council, was stopped at 2:30 a.m. Saturday by the State Highway Patrol on Interstate 40/85 at the Maple Avenue interchange inBurlington. She registered a 0.15 on a test that measures blood-alcohol content. North Carolina law considers a driver impaired with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or above.

Philipps is the Democratic candidate in the race for N.C. House District 63, which is made up of parts of Alamance County.

She entered the race for N.C. House this year after fellow Democrat Alice Bordsen announced her retirement. Philipps’ Republican opponent is Burlington City Council member and former mayor Steve Ross.

N.C. House of Representatives candidate Patty Philipps was charged during the weekend with driving while impaired.

Arrest records say Philipps, also a member of Mebane’s City Council, was stopped at 2:30 a.m. Saturday by the State Highway Patrol on Interstate 40/85 at the Maple Avenue interchange inBurlington. She registered a 0.15 on a test that measures blood-alcohol content. North Carolina law considers a driver impaired with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or above.

Philipps is the Democratic candidate in the race for N.C. House District 63, which is made up of parts of Alamance County.

She entered the race for N.C. House this year after fellow Democrat Alice Bordsen announced her retirement. Philipps’ Republican opponent is Burlington City Council member and former mayor Steve Ross.

Philipps apologized for her actions leading to the charge.

“I made a serious mistake,” she said. “I’m deeply sorry and apologize to my family, friends and community.”

Philipps said she plans to stay in the race and believes she can make her case to voters.

“I have a long history of community service,” she said.

Ross was out of town but had read about the charge against Philipps online when contacted Monday night by the Times-News.

“That’s not something that I’m going to comment on,” he said.

J.A. Freeman, chairman of the local Democratic Party, said he had neither spoken with Philipps since her arrest nor heard about the charge.

“This is kind of cold turkey to me,” he said, declining to speculate on potential impact on the N.C. House race.

News of the arrest was spreading Monday night in North Carolina’s political world: It was part of the blog version of the News & Observer’s “Under the Dome” section.